February 27 2020

What am I listening to?

Some of you are possibly wondering what is all that talking you hear coming from my car when I pull into the parking lot at work. Well, sometimes it is an audio book, but lately it has more likely been a podcast. If you are asking yourself what a podcast is and why you would want to listen to it, you’ve come to the right place. I will do my best to explain just that.

A podcast is like a radio show that is recorded and can be listened to on your computer or smart phone at YOUR convenience. If you find one you want to listen to on your computer, chances are there is a way to listen already built into your browser, so bookmark the site and keep track of which episodes you have already listened to and have at it.

If you want to listed without being tied to your computer, never fear! There IS an app or twelve for that. You DO have a smart phone, right? If not, what rock have you been hiding under? Go back to the last paragraph and see how to listen on a computer.

So, if you are reading this, you most probably have a smart phone, and are at least willing to give listening to podcasts a try.

I know there are many different apps for listening to podcasts, but I only know about the one I use, Stitcher. This is a free app and I like it because it allows me to save a few episodes to my phone while I am at home with access to WiFi and then listen to them while I am driving to and from work without using up cellular data. So to get the app on your phone, or computer just visit the website linked above or click on the picture below and then click Get The App and choose the platform you want to listen on. You can easily search for podcasts by topic or name.

When you find something that sounds good, save the podcast to a playlist such as favorites by clicking the blue + (see example below)

Then you will see various playlist choices or be able to create new ones. For now, just put the ones you want to try in favorites and give them a listen. This is one I didn’t know existed and now I want to try it out.

When I try a podcast, I like to start back at the very beginning and listen to all the episodes in order. I usually listen to an episode or two and if I decide I want to listen to the entire podcast, I usually create a tracker in my bullet journal because I like to track my progress on things. The first one I started listening to and tracking was Success Insider in 2017.

 

The in 2018, I began listening to the InvestED: The Rule #1 Investing Podcast by Phil and Danielle Town. I was late finding this podcast and had a lot of episodes to catch up on so I have tracked it across three years of bullet journals so far and because I have finally caught up with the back episodes, the grid is much smaller in this year’s BuJo:

Note, you can also watch this podcast: InvestED: The Rule #1 Podcast

As you can see I only got through the first 90 episodes in 2018, so I made a note and started the new grid from there.

This year, I guessed how many spaces to allow on the grid based on the fact that the podcast is a weekly show, then added a few just in case.I then discovered the Retire Inspired podcast that was later rebranded to The Chris Hogan Show. You can see above that I was close to caught up at the beginning of this year so it too has a smaller grid.

Note, you can also watch this podcast: The Chris Hogan Show

Knowing I was pretty well caught up with InvestED and The Chris Hogan Show, I added a new one this year based on Danielle Town’s suggestion. She recommended HerMoney with Jean Chatzky and I am only about 30 episodes into it right now, and loving it. Jean is constantly interviewing various authors and podcasters on the show so I am adding a lot of books to my want to read someday list on GoodReads. Here is my grid for HerMoney. You can visit Jean Chatzky’s Website to learn more about her and the show.

As you can see there are many episodes to listen to. I wrote out what was in the list including some called Bonus Mailbag where she answers listener questions. I figure if I catch up then I will need to add another grid on a new page in this year’s BuJo. No big deal, that is the beauty of bullet journaling.

If you like Mike Rowe, you may want to give his podcast, The Way I Heard It, a try. His are fun to listen to and usually only 10 minutes or less.

So, now that you know what I listen to, please share your favorite podcasts in the comments so we can all give them a listen.

Category: Bullet Journal, Goals, Money Saving, Review | Comments Off on What am I listening to?
February 7 2019

Bullet Journal Update

I thought I would check in and let you know how I am doing with bullet journaling. This year marks my third year using the Leuchtturm1917 A5 sized dot grid notebook in the purple color as my bullet journal. I am happy with this notebook but would have been fine trying a different notebook this year as well. I was gifted all of these notebooks, and they really are great. This year, I was also gifted all four packs of the Zebra Mildliner markers that I had been wanting to try for so long. That is twenty colors of highlighters in all, though some colors are very similar. I decided to try to use these markers as much as possible in my bullet journal this year. Here are a couple of examples, nothing fancy.

The weather and life have gotten in the way of a few of my crochet meetings, so I am kind of behind on crocheting hats this year.

Each of the last two years, I have made a double page spread to record the books I read. Then sometime during the year that fills up and I need to create a second spread further back in my bullet journal. So this year I got busy and created a four-page spread all together in the front area. I also liked the idea of coloring every other line with the highlighters to add color and visual interest, so I made each page alike but used four different colors for the lines. It isn’t perfect, but I rather like the casual messiness of how these pages turned out. I discovered that the highlighters worked better when I put them on the page first then use the black around or on top of them. This is taking a bit of getting used to.

Yes, I have read a few books already, but as you can see they are almost all audiobooks, which are much faster because they allow me to read while I commute and do household chores. At this rate, I might fill all those lines and still need to make another spread before the year ends.

I have also been experimenting with my weekly spreads using the mild liners in various ways.

Yep, I made a mistake on the dates, but I just fixed it and moved on. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The spread above is a combination of one highlighter and 2 colors of my PaperMate Flair markers left from last year.

The spread above allowed me to use the yellow Flair pen I rarely use along with the highlighter. I think it turned out alright.

It is a little tricky figuring out what you will want to highlight ahead of time and putting the color down first, but it is coming along.

I am also keeping four colors in a pack by themselves so I can always find them to record my tracking.

I decided to do something slightly different with most of my trackers this year and that is to fill the box completely for doing a little more. As you can see I am a bit behind logging in these trackers, but everything in them is found in my weekly spreads so I can fill them in later. This is an example of my going deeper by using the familiar tracker spread but tracking in it in a deeper way and giving myself extra credit when I go above and beyond.

In case you are wondering I have been counting my physical therapy as strength training which explains a couple of things. I have been extra busy because of all the extra time this takes from my schedule. I also got more exercise in January this year than I did most of last year combined. Hey, I’m a work in progress, so don’t judge me too harshly!

I am still enjoying the bullet journal system and adapting it to meet my needs. I DO feel like it has helped me get more done and accomplish so many more goals than before I started paying attention to the goals I set at various times throughout the year. If you haven’t tried using a bullet journal yet, what are you waiting for? Grab any notebook and writing utensil and get started.

I’d love to hear about your adventures in bullet journaling and especially like to see your spreads, so feel free to share, please.

 

Category: Bullet Journal, Depth Year | Comments Off on Bullet Journal Update
January 3 2019

Year in Review – Goals

Here is the list of my 2018 Goals.

FAMILY/FRIENDS
Spring Break Cabin Trip (March 23-30) (Read More Here)
London Trip(September 21-29) (details and photos)
College Avenue Stitchers (1st Saturdays) (10/12)
FlyFests (2nd Saturdays) (12/12)
Knit & Crochet It Forward (2nd Saturdays) (12/12)
YarnSlingers (3rd Tuesdays) (11/12)

HEALTH/FITNESS
Sleep (6 hours/night) (57/92 this Qtr) 61.9% (258/365 = 70%)
Water (6 cups/day) (86/92 this Qtr) 93.4% (324/365 = 88%)
Cardio (3/92 this Qtr) 3% (Achilles Tendon trouble since 7/1) (73/365 = 20%)
Strength (0/92 this Qtr) 0% (no excuses really) (4/365 = 1%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE
Finish Cleaning Office (cleared table from the hall that I piled office stuff on)
Backup Floppy Disks to Iomega Drive (ALL 434 DONE! as of 4/24)
Paint Table for Porch (DONE! as of  4/29) (See proof here)
Master Bedroom (work on it) (destruction is done) (See proof here)

We have decided to Reclaim Our Home, one room or area at a time.
We turned our daughter’s old bedroom into our Reading Room.
We decluttered and cleaned the Landing, Garage and the Basement!

FINANCES

Pay Off Car Loan (DONE as of 7/17!)
Pay Off TAN (making monthly payments) (12/12)
Pay ALL Bills on Time (so far, so good) (12/12)
Save $6,000 for London Trip (scraped it up somehow)

We cut the cable and saved over $200/month!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GIVING
Donate 36 Crocheted Hats (55 DONE!)Donate $ to NaNoWriMo (November) (DONE!)
Gift Wrap for DAR (I missed the signup and they didn’t need me by the time I volunteered)

I have also added crochet edging to 6 baby blankets (30″x30″) this year and taught a great group of ladies how to do this as well. All blankets will be gifted to family or charity. I made 10 soap sacks too!

FUN/HOBBIES
Get Family Tree Maker (just have to decide which computer now) (gifted to me!)
Update My Genealogy Websites (ALL DONE! as of 4/16, see Karen’s Kin)
Setup a Way to Sell my Crochet Online (got Etsy Store up and posted 30 listings/49 pcs total)(Sold 2 hats!)

Got a My Heritage DNA test kit for my birthday (reviewed it)

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Read 100 Books (107/100) (DONE! see GoodReads for specifics)
Complete Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge (12/12)Read 3 Personal Development Books (21/3)
Update Resume (DONE and currently job hunting) 

BLOG
1 New Blog Post/Week (Thursdays) (105 new posts in 2018!) 
Continue Five Minute Friday Posts (My blog says I have written 81 FMF posts in about 18 months)

YOUTUBE
Continue to Add Content (video clips posted throughout the year) 
Try to Film Bullet Journal Flip Through (I filmed it!)
Try Being On Camera with Someone for a Virtual Write-In (still thinking about it/didn’t happen)

I did test Google Hangouts with my adult son who lives in another city
I took a free class (May 11-15) to learn how to edit videos and have posted a few to my IG feed

WRITING
Complete NaNoWriMo (November) (DONE) See wrap up
Read 3 Writing Craft Books (DONE 4/3)
Take 3 Writing Classes (1/3)
Submit 3 Guest Blog Posts or Magazine Articles for Publication (DONE)
Write 3 Contest Entries (DONE)
Thursday Night Writing Group (42/52) LOVE this group!

Word counts are steady but not as much as I’d like. Pretty much just writing blog posts, resumes, and cover letters these days.

How are you doing on your goals so far this year? Is there anything we can help you with? Let us know in the comments or email me through the contact form.
Please subscribe so you won’t miss anything I post.

Now to start figuring out what I want to accomplish in 2019, because this setting goals things works pretty well in my humble opinion, at least when you check in and hold yourself accountable by posting your progress for the entire world to see. Give it a try, I double dog dare ya!

Category: Bullet Journal, Crochet, Goals, NaNoWriMo, Travel, Writing | Comments Off on Year in Review – Goals
December 10 2018

Balance (Five Minute Friday)

What does one write about balance? As the year draws to an end, I find myself thinking about what word will guide me through the coming year. I also think about the goals I would like to achieve next year.

Right now, my life doesn’t have much balance. I am working as many hours as I can stand to try to keep my head above water in a temp job that I really enjoy. I spend my days in front of a computer screen creating emails and comparing documents closely and deciding which templates are required to get the recipient to follow the rules so we can put their requests forward and know it will pass some future audit. When I get home, the last thing I want to do is check my email. You would think being in front of a computer all day that the last thing I would want to do is sit at my desk in front of a monitor, but I do. Admittedly, it is sometimes just to watch YouTube videos.

I also find myself looking through the bullet journal I have been using this year. I have recently listened to Ryder Carroll’s The Bullet Journal Method, not once, but twice and some parts three times. This made me reconsider the way I used my own bullet journal. It doesn’t consist of “to do” lists, but “ta da” lists. It is more a place to record what the highlights of the day were than anything else and a place to record how much water I drink, steps I take and minutes of sleep I was able to get the night before. That is just the weekly spreads though. I also record my word counts each month the books I read, track the podcasts I listen to and so much more.

I’m trying to figure out how next year’s bullet journal will help me achieve that sought after balance in my life. If you have suggestions on this or which word of the year might be the right one for me, please feel free to comment below or contact me directly so we can talk about it.

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!
The prompt this week is: Balance
The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write.

Category: Bullet Journal, Five Minute Friday | 1 Comment on Balance (Five Minute Friday)
February 15 2018

My Favorite Bullet Journal Accessories

Below I will show you some of the things that make bullet journaling easier and more enjoyable for me. I provide the links because others have asked me where I got these cases that protect my BuJo and pens so nicely. The color of these is called black but are truly more of a dark gray color with brown insides. They do come in more color choices, but I wanted these darker ones so they would look more professional and hopefully resist stains longer. I will also link the products shown in the pockets because these are the products I carry in the covers and pen case regularly. My current bullet journal never leaves home without this jacket to keep it neat and clean. Yes, my BuJo means that much to me. Continue reading

Category: Bullet Journal | Comments Off on My Favorite Bullet Journal Accessories